THE leader of Ealing Council has pledged defiance in the face of new doubts over the future of Ealing Hospital.

Julian Bell vowed to continue opposing any plans to close the site in Uxbridge Road, following remarks which cast a shadow over the hospital’s prospects from the man charged with restructuring local services.

Launching a new review, NHS North West London’s medical director Mark Spencer said there is a need to ‘centralise’ and ‘probably have fewer hospital sites’ in the eight boroughs overseen by his organisation which includes Ealing.

Dr Spencer said: “We have more hospitals per head of population, more hospital beds per head of population and travel time to your local hospital is much shorter than anywhere else in the country and that’s an inefficient system.”

Dr Spencer has been asked to cut £1billion from local health budgets by 2014.

Responding to his comments, Mr Bell said: “This is the first public statement by an NHS official that actually begins to come clean on the secret plans the Tory-led government has to close hospitals and accident and emergency wards in North West London.

“Central Middlesex has already had its A&E closed at nights and merger plans between Ealing and North West London hospitals show the preferred option is to close Ealing Hospital and leave it with zero beds.

“Over 6,000 local people have already signed Dr Onkar Sahota’s petition opposing the closure of Ealing and Central Middlesex Hospitals and we will continue the campaign to vigorously oppose these closure plans.”

The Shaping a Healthier Future programme aims to improve patient care and reduce inequality, with greater investment in GPs and more spent on services in the community instead of hospitals.

Following Dr Spencer’s comments, a spokeswoman for NHS North West London denied that any hospitals would close altogether but conceded some facilities could be downgraded.

She said: “It is not anticipated any hospital site will cease to offer services. If we are to maintain and improve good quality care for patients in the future in north-west London, hospitals will have to change. Nevertheless, it is not anticipated that any hospital site will cease to offer services. Where possible care will be kept local, but it may make sense to bring some services together.”